‘Snowbird' tax won't fly

Graphics

There are few state governments as imaginative as California in coming up with questionable new taxes on businesses or residents, but Minnesota comes close.

In his recent proposed 2012-13 state budget, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton proposed to slap an income tax on part-time residents of the Gopher State who spend colder months in balmier states like California and Florida.

Mr. Dayton, a Democrat, is unapologetic. Yes, he told reporters last month, it's “a snowbird tax, absolutely.” And he made the case that the tax is justified on fairness grounds.

“One of the unfairnesses,” he said, is “that somebody can spend six months and one day out of the state and pay no personal income taxes and come back here and take advantage of all the state has to offer for five months and 29 days.”

Gov. Dayton maligns Minnesota's part-time residents as if they are tax scofflaws. But, while those part-timers may not contribute income taxes to St. Paul, they certainly pay property taxes on their Minnesota homes.

And they pay sales taxes on the goods and services they purchase during the months they spend in the Gopher State.

As to the governor's insinuation that the so-called snowbirds are free-riders on all the benefits the state offers its lucky residents, another way of looking at it is that part-timers also miss out on the public services their property and sales taxes have helped pay for back in Minnesota while they are wintering in Palm Springs or Palm Beach.

It's a little hazy how exactly Minnesota would go about calculating the income of the state's snowbirds and then collecting taxes on it.

Gov. Dayton would tax income from capital gains and dividends, as well as stocks and bonds on those who spend two months or more in Minnesota. And he would collect it on income earned not just during months spent in the Gopher State, but also months spent in residence outside the state.

If Minnesota's Democrat-controlled Legislature approves the governor's proposed snowbird tax, it is almost certain to wind up in court. That's because not even high-tax California has the gumption to impose income taxes on the out-of-state earnings of its residents.

Then there is another unforeseen consequence Gov. Dayton apparently has not considered: If St. Paul hits its snowbirds with punitive taxes, they are not simply going to grin and bear it.

Many, if not most, will either abandon Minnesota entirely, reduce their part-time residency to one month and 29 days, or figure out some artful maneuver to legally (or illegally) avoid the state's snowbird tax.

Gov. Dayton is wrong to demagogue the state's thin-blooded residents who prefer to spend the Minnesota's long, cold winter in warmer climates.

Instead, he should appreciate that they are so fond of the Gopher State, they choose to summer there.

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.